October, 2016 | Brit In The South

This idea came to me as I was trying to think of a little something to take along to a Halloween party.

Every year as Halloween approaches the beer shelves in local stores seem to groan under the weight of an ever increasing selection of pumpkin beers. One local brewpub even serves a draught version straight out of a giant pumpkin.

I have to confess that I’m not a huge fan of drinking pumpkin beer as it comes but I thought it would make a great ingredient in pumpkin bread, adding moisture and flavour. I could then use the beery bread as the basis for an autumnal chocolate treat.

I used this recipe to make the pumpkin bread although you could simplify things by just buying some. I tweaked the recipe a bit. I had an abundance of butternut squash from my CSA box so roasted that and used it instead of pumpkin puree, and I reduced the amount of cinnamon used as I can find it overwhelming in many desserts at this time of year. It is easy to adjust the cinnamon and other flavourings as you make the truffles to get just the right amount of pumpkin spice goodness.

Luckily I didn’t need all the bread for the truffle recipe and enjoyed a few slices for breakfast this week. A recipe I will definitely be making again.

Beer Infused Pumpkin Bread Truffles

8oz pumpkin bread

2oz agave syrup

1oz unsalted butter

0.5 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Salt

8oz dark chocolate

Nutmeg (optional)

Crumble the pumpkin bread into a bowl. Melt the agave syrup and butter together in a small pan over medium heat.

Pour the syrup mixture over the crumbled bread and mix well to combine. Add cinnamon if required and a pinch of salt.

Melt 4oz of the dark chocolate over medium heat in a double boiler or a glass bowl over a pan of water. Add the melted chocolate to the bread and syrup mixture and stir to combine. At this point you can sneak a little taste to check if any adjustments to the seasoning is required.

When cool, place in the refrigerator for an hour or two until the mixture is firm.

Taking a teaspoon full of the mixture at a time, roll into balls to form the centres of the truffles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then return to the fridge to firm up again.

Melt the remaining 4oz of dark chocolate for the coating in a double boiler. Dip the truffle centres in the melted chocolate to coat and place on baking parchment to set.

You can enjoy them as they are or sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg or whatever takes your fancy to get another burst of flavour.

Yield: 25 truffles

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My wife and I often have crazy work schedules with long hours and late finishes. We usually do a pretty good job of meal planning and prepping food ahead of time to make sure we have something tasty and nutritious to enjoy when we eventually get home but like everyone, there are occasions when we resort to takeout or something quick and easy from the grocery store.

One of our staples on these occasions are spicy black bean burgers from the supermarket freezer. They may be convenient, and they have significantly less fat and zero cholesterol compared to a burger made from beef but a quick glance at the ingredient list reveals such delights as disodium inosinate and thiamin hydrochloride as well as unspecified artificial flavors.

I therefore set out to create my own spicy black bean burger, with ingredients I recognise and a customised spice blend to suit our palates.

As well as black beans I included red rice to help bind the burger together. I’m a big fan of red rice, which is available quite cheaply in big bags from our local Asian supermarkets. It’s nutty flavour not only works well in this recipe but I find it makes a great base for salads. You could cook dried black beans for this recipe but I opted for a can. I used low sodium beans to give me more control over the seasoning

Black Bean / Red Rice Burgers

15oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

4oz cooked red rice

0.5 medium red onion, chopped

1oz breadcrumbs

1 large garlic clove

0.5 tsp sweet paprika

0.5 tsp smoked paprika

0.5 tsp crushed red pepper

0.5 tsp salt

0.5 tsp black pepper

0.5 tsp ground cumin

0.5 tsp ground coriander seed

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until the mixture is combined but still relatively coarse in texture.

By hand, form the mixture into four patties, each about half an inch thick.

In a skillet or frying pan, warm about a quarter of an inch of olive oil over medium high heat. Let the burger form a good brown crust on one side before flipping. Cook the burgers for about 5 minutes on each side until crisp on the outside and heated through.

Serve them in a burger bun with the toppings of your choice.

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Brit In The South

A Blog from the Deep South with a British Twist

Monthly Archives: October 2016

Beer Infused Pumpkin Bread Truffles

Black Bean / Red Rice Veggie Burgers